Our characters for our Thriller

After the idea of our thriller had changed, our characters also had! Instead of having a gang of male protagonist's, we kept to only having two characters. A female lead which was playing the role of being chased and being the voice for our voice over. Then the only other character we needed was a lead male which was chasing the girl with the thriller signifier of the gun. Luckily, we found two sixth form students to play the part. Mary Collins aged 16, and Guy Walker also aged 16.

Storyboards for our Thriller

These are our storyboards for our thriller, which explain what me and my group planned to film shot by shot. However, our idea did actually change from what these storyboards show. Although, we did still use some of the key elements from our original ideas, such as the use of guns and the "gangster" element.

The Themes of our Thriller

The themes of our thriller are corruption, deceit, duality of characters, mystery, danger and finally moral ambiguity. The reason why these are the themes which represent our thrillers is because there is a lot of people deceiving each other in our thriller. For instance, there is a lot of conflict between the two gangs which therefore connote a lot of danger and mystery.

The style of our film is that it is a modern, British and is of a gangsta genre. This is because we wanted our gangs to reflect similarities to the "Mafia," and the role of gangstas suited the genre. Therefore, our Sub genre is action thriller.

The influences of our film is "Layer Cake, 2004" and "Essex Boys, 2000." Layer Cake has held an influence over our film because of there use of plot line (drug use) and the dynamic chase scene they use which really grabs the audiences attention, which is what we wanted to achieve for our own film. Essex Boys influenced us by the gangs, as there typically British which will hopefully come across in our film.

Overall, we shall be analysing plenty of films which involve various chase scenes, so we can base that in our own thriller film. However, we shall not be focusing on American films as they tend to be to over exaggerated, and we want our film to give of a British character.

Location Scouting

Eaton Park :


For the meeting between the two gangs in the deserted park, this will be filmed at night time. We chose Eaton park because we can film at nighttime and it has a circular building (shown on the photo) which can be used to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, and it's a spacious area. The tree's and columns surrounding the building will help create shadows and darkness which will create a sense of mystery and a convey a feeling of a thriller film. The scenery surrounding the building is also quite symmetrical, which helps give our film more style and authenticity.



Lucy's House (Living Room):


For the flash back scenes of Rex's wife talking to him on the phone. We chose this location because it is a good homely setting, perfect for a home call scene. Also, we do not need permission to film there, and it is easy to get to. The wall paper in the background also quite suits the theme of a thriller, as the colour of the deep red connotes mystery and love. The wall paper is also stylish, and the colours blend in together.




St. Benedict's Street:

For the chase scene between the two gangs at the end and beginning of thriller film. We chose this location because it is an urban setting, but not as busy as the city centre so you wont have people ruing the shots by walking into them. The buildings there such as the pub photograph appear seedy and therefore create a feeling of underbelly of the city. Also, there are alleyways leading off from the street, we can get shots using vanishing points, and we can use alleys in the chase scene to create claustrophobia.

Our Script for Thriller

For Park Scene:

Ricky: (To Charlie) What's gone wrong eh? We need to sort this out.
Charlie: I don't know, it's not my problem, I thought you were the one in charge of this.
Matt: Look, there's no use fighting, we just want the money.
Lil' Bob: Just let Rex sort this one out.
(Car pulls up, Rex arrives)
Rex: What the bleedin' hell have you done? (Rex uses violence) I'm going to make you all pay for this; you've blown the whole deal.
(Phone rings, Rex leaves)

Possible scene, phone call.

Kate: Where the hell are you Jimmy? You were meant to be gome hours ago, I thought you were at a business meeting.
Rex: Sorry babe, things look to have gone wrong.
Kate: Well, you'd better hurry up, I don't like waiting.
(Kate hangs up)

Shooting Schedule for Thriller

Every Wednesday Evening - To shoot the deserted park scene. Will take about 3 sessions to fully shoot for this scene. Will be shot at 7.00pm
Within these scenes we shall be filming the meeting between the two gangs and the phone conversation between Rex and his wife. It will most likely take us around an hour to shoot each session. We planned to shoot at this time to get the right night setting, as we want to film when it is darker to give of a sense of mystery.

Every Sunday Morning - To shoot chase scene, will again take about 3 sessions to shoot. Will be filmed at around 7.00am
Within these sessions we will shoot the chase between the two gangs, which will involve plenty of action and fast paced editing shots. We planned to film at this time to get the early light, therefore you will be able to see plenty of action happening.

Possibly Thursday Evenings if necessary, this will be in case we don't get all the filming done for the gang scene, and in the evening so we get the same tone of darkness.

Character Profiles

The male protagonist in our group’s thriller is more of an anti-hero, like in film noirs. He has a double identity; leading two lives- one as a regular business man for IBM with a wife and a good successful life ahead of him, the other with a slutty promiscuous girlfriend, and as a leader of a corrupt drug gang known as ‘Speed’. To his wife, he is Jimmy Brown, but in his other life he is known as Rex Reynolds. The actor playing this role will need to be able to act as two different characters easily, making an obvious contrast between the two. He will need to be dressed smartly in a suit and shirt.Kate Brown is Jimmy Brown’s wife. She is 25, has blonde curly hair, and suspects nothing of her husband’s 2nd identity. Although Kate appears to be fairly boring as she is just a housewife, she is quite glamorous, and the actress playing her should reflect this, whilst making sure the audience know that she has no idea of her husband’s two identities.Ricky and Bob (sometimes called ‘Lil Bob’) are Rex Reynolds’ sidekicks who stand by him no matter what. They also dress up smartly like Rex, and are just below Rex in the hierarchy of the ‘Speed Gang’. They need to appear tough and unafraid, as well as following what ever Rex tells them. They are between the ages of 18 and 25, and don’t seem to be particularly clever or intelligent.The Speed gang’s rivals are Ecstasy. The three key members of this gang are Charlie, who is 26, and Matt and Simon, who are both 22. The gang are meant to seem like the “bad guys” and are a lot less smart and well dressed as the Speed gang, and are also made to seem less clever, more into violence and even more corrupt, which the actors playing these characters will have to emphasise.
The reason why we have the main character Rex leading a double life, is because it enables us to create and induce mystery into the thriller, which will allow to explore the theme of lies and characters decieving eachother. Therefore, we gain even more ideas about what the thriller genre is about.

Props for our Thriller Production

· Blinds for the house scene when wife calls Rex up while he’s at the meeting because slattered blinds are a key thriller signifier. We are also hoping to use white slattered blinds, so its more likely to create shadows.
· Suits for the men to wear , such as dark colours like black to connote feeling of mystery and it fits in with the night scene at the park. Wearing suits is also typical of the thriller genre. We also want the dark colours to fit in with the night scene and blend in so the men don't stand out,
· Cigarettes to be used as a thriller signifier. (Mainly for Rex, for the panning shot when he is shown stubbing the cigarette on the ground. This is a known key thriller signifier, and it gives us the ability to use panning up shot along the male protagonist body.
· Guns (fake) to be used in the chase scene, as a gun is what is used to kill one of the members of the gang "Ecstasy." This will create a cliff hanger at the end of our introduction, and create a more tense atmosphere.
· Fan for in the house scene as it is also a known thriller signifier.
· Wife to be wearing stylish clothes. Red to connote danger and passion, and also to add to her sexuality. Wearing red clothes also connotes love, and the wife will also be wearing red lipstick to match, to add to the affect of her persona.
· Binoculars for the beginning shot, so it looks more mysterious and it uses special effects, making the scene looking more technical.
· Dark glasses to show authority and is again typical of a thriller film.

Synopsis of Thriller Film

Our overall synopsis of our beginning to a thriller production is that we are going to start of with a long shot of a street which looks as if you’re looking through binoculars. The shot won’t last very long, around 3 seconds. Then they’ll be jazzy music to start of with which at first will be quiet, then as it grows louder all of a sudden you see about five guys sprint across the screen as there being chased by guns. You will also hear sound effects of guns and will be shot in the early hours of the mornings. Finally, the scene will suddenly cut out and flash back in time to a gathering of men deserted in a park. However, the jazzy music will continue on.
The next shot will start of with a Pan, moving from a high angle to a low angle. As a thriller Signifier, you see a man stubbing out a cigarette at his feet as the camera zooms up and then out to view all the men in the “meeting,” which will be around 5 altogether. The music will continue on playing, but will be quietened down in parts so you can hear the dialogue. The whole scene in the park will include plenty of mystery being created. For instance, the storyline is that the men are discussing a drug deal which is illegal which is why there meeting in a park at nigh time. They’ll be plenty of conflict between the men as they get angry and frustrated at each other. For example, they’ll use threats and violence toward everyone. Different men will also be shown arriving and driving away at the scene in cars, which is another thriller signifier. Also, within the meeting, mystery will be created as one of the guys will receive a phone call from who we learn is his wife. His wife doesn’t know what he’s involved in and thinks he’s at work at a normal business meeting, so it’s clear that he’s lying. The wife also calls him a different name from what everyone else calls him. During this shot the music will stop, then re-start again. They’ll be flash back shots of the wife sitting alone at home. The scene will then suddenly flash back to the beginning shot of the same street and the audience get to witness the chase between the men which will be filmed in the city. Overall, the film will include plenty of action and create mystery as we’re left with a lot of un-answered questions.
The actual film synopsis is that there are actually two gangs with three men in each. One is called “Speed,” and one is called “Ecstasy.” (Purposely named after drugs.) The two gangs join together though to arrange a major drug deal involving heroine, but the gang “Speed” goes behind “Ecstasy’s” back and gets the drugs without them, which is why there’s a chase scene between the two gangs, in which one of members of “Speed,” gets shot. The main leader of Speed is called Rex and is the husband of the wife who calls him during the meeting in the park. However, she calls him a different name “Jimmy” because it turns out that Rex is leading a double life and told his wife a fake name and identity, so she can’t find out who he really is. The film also involves Rex having another girlfriend. So overall there are two different storylines going on. The film ends with Speed actually killing all the members of Ecstasy in order to keep the drugs for themselves so they can sell them for money, but the film also ends in a cliff hanger with Rex being shown at gunpoint by a person who isn’t identified. Perhaps it was his wife? Or a member of Ecstasy who they thought they killed, but actually turned out to be alive?

Meetings Schedule for Thriller Film

(For meetings in school to discuss out thriller and plan when we can all next shoot.)

Week 1 –
Monday – Period 2
Wednesday – Period 2
Thursday – Period 3
Friday – Period 3
Week 2 –
Monday – Period 5
Thursday – Period 3
Thursday - Period 5

We have planned these meeting schedules during school time so it is easy for me and Nena to get together and discuss where we are going to film our thriller, and what we are going to film. During these meetings we are planning to discuss details of our thriller such as what props we are going to use, who we shall gain for our cast, and most importantly our script.

Initial Idea's for our Thriller Production

Our initial idea for our film is that we have decided to try and produce an Action Thriller. This is because we want to shoot scenes in a busy atmosphere setting, such as within a city. Therefore, we also want our film to contain a modern style.
We have decided that so far, our main basic idea for the film is that we want to start of with something exciting happening. Therefore we are going to start of with a beginning of a chase scene. For example we will start of with a long shot of a street with jazzy music starting to play, and then suddenly across the screen they’ll be a group of about five guys chasing each other with sounds of gun shots. The music will grow really loud and continue on, then all a sudden the screen will flash back in time to a gathering of men in a deserted park at night time. This will create mystery within the film as it will keep the audience guessing. Within the park scene we’ll start of with a pan shot moving from high angle to low angle of one of the main guys. Then the camera angle will zoom out so we can see all the other guys in the groups. Thriller signifiers will include the men smoking cigars, and props such as guns. Within the meeting park, the jazzy music will grow quieter at points so you can hear some of the dialogue, so it will come apparent to the audience that the men are discussing some sort of drug/business deal, and the whole shot will be made exciting with increasing tension between the guys with them getting angry at each other. Another twist which we might include in the film is that in the gathering, one of the guys phone will ring and the audience learn that it’s his wife. It also becomes clear that the wife thinks her husband is in a normal business meeting at work, and what becomes apparent is hat his wife calls the guy a different name from what all the other men call him. During this part of the thriller introduction the music will stop, then suddenly start up again. This again creates mystery. There will also be flash back shots of the wife sitting at home. Finally, the end will involve the camera shot suddenly going back to same street where the chase began, and we get to see some of the chase between all five men.
Films which have influenced our group are Layer Cake because of the action involved in it. Another film which has influenced us is Mr and Mrs Smith because the two main characters in it are man and wife, and lies and deception are used within the film. We are also gaining ideas about what type of camera shots to use especially from Layer Cake. So we are defiantly trying to achieve making an action thriller, which also has a modern style.
Overall, we are trying to achieve making an exciting beginning of a thriller film which will immediately capture the audience’s attention. We mainly want to explore what type of work goes into producing an action packed film. Hopefully we will be able to achieve this well.